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Throwback Reviews are our way of showing off great older games and reviewing them with today’s games in mind. They will normally come once a fortnight.

Portal has been recognised to be a game changer when it hit shelves in 2007, in the orange box. Generally known to be the epitome of the fps/puzzle blend, Portal had rave review in its day, but will it stand up to the harsh critics of today?

I hope to see Portal through today’s gaming eyes, and judge it as if it were released today.

The gameplay of Portal is simple yet hugely effective, never done before. It’s easy to pick up, and you will rack your brains trying to complete some of the levels, and the satisfaction you get after completing one of these brainteasers is awesome, and very worth it. Also its representation of physics is superb thanks to the lovely Half-Life engine.

At first there seems to be very little to no story. You play as Chell, a test-subject in the Aperture Science facilities. Waking up in a pristine white room, you are tasked to complete a series of puzzles to get a cake and some grief counselling. The story is told through the malfunctioning AI that guides you through the levels, GLaDOS. This erratic and dastardly character really brings the game alive.

The graphics maybe getting a bit old, but it still holds up well in this day and age. It’s no Crysis, and most of the games released nowadays would be better than it but it’s acceptable and doesn’t distract from the overall gameplay.

Portal certainly lives up to expectations and holds its own in modern-day circles and with the price so cheap nowadays defiantly worth a punt.

Gameplay: 10/10

Story: 8/10

Graphics: 6/10

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Editor-in-Chief, a general gamer. He likes to play pretty much everything ranging from Dance Central (his fave kinect game) to Mass Effect. Currently playing Football Manager 2012 and wandering through Skyrim.